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Chelsea Shipp -
Cody Lee Arnold
Marking two corners of an allegedly murderous, tri-county love triangle, two Southeast Texans in their 20s allegedly killed and hid the body of the man’s 16-year-old girlfriend March 26 .
A Jefferson County grand jury has charged Winnie resident Chelsea Ann-Marie Shipp, 25, and Beaumont man Cody Arnold, 21, for murder after detectives found the body of Arnold’s 16-year-old girlfriend in his home.
Detectives found the victim, identified as Vidor native Katelynn Nicole Stone, with evidence of a gunshot wound in the 14000 block of Kolb’s Corner between Hamshire and Fannett March 27. That day, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) detectives arrested Arnold, who they listed as an accomplice in his girlfriend’s murder. Three days later, after finding the woman 260 miles away from the murder scene, police in Liberty Hill arrested Shipp for shooting the 16-year-old girl.
According to a probable cause affidavit recounting Arnold’s side of the homicide, a woman called the department March 27 to report that her friend and former coworker, Shipp, told her she shot and killed a girl the day before.
The caller didn’t know Stone’s name, but did know she was the girlfriend of Shipp’s friend, Cody Arnold. The affidavit penned by JCSO Detective Chad Williamson goes on to say detectives arrived at Arnold’s address to find him on the front porch.
Detectives discovered Stone deceased on a bed before noticing a bullet shell casing on the pillow next to the covered body. Of the time preceding Stone’s death, Arnold told officers he had been hanging out with Shipp and “using methamphetamines” with her.
“Throughout the day, Arnold and Shipp were arguing about (Stone) being underage and their dating relationship; (Arnold) being 21 years of age and (Stone) being only 16 years old,” reads the probable cause affidavit for Arnold’s indictment. “During the interview, Cody Arnold advised that (Stone) was possibly pregnant, she had taken an at-home test that was positive.”
According to a probable cause affidavit for Shipp’s indictment, written by JCSO Detective Brian Sain, Shipp used to work for a small cleaning company called Latitude Adjustments in Crystal Beach. A former coworker there called JCSO detectives after Shipp asked her for help after she “got rid” of Stone.
“What did you do, beat her up or something?” the woman asked, to which Shipp allegedly replied, “No, I shot her.”
“He asked me to take care of the problem,” Shipp said, according to the affidavit, “and now he has to do what he has to do.”